I didn't initially hear of this kid for his unibrow. I heard of him because on senior night, he benched himself several times, even though he could have scored more points and made himself a better candidate for player of the year, so that a senior on the team could have more playing time during his final home game.

So...even if he's being kind of silly about trademarking the unibrow, he seems to be a decent guy.

IP laws in this country have become insane and sometimes demean us as a people (trademarking "fear the brow" isn't nearly the worst, not even just this year).

I wouldn't go that far, and I will note that the unibrow, per se, is not what they have apparently tried to protect, but the phrases “Fear The Brow” and “Raise The Brow”. I don't see this as really all that much worse than the reality that McDonald's essentially claims any food name that starts with "Mc" or Apple with words starting with "i".

In the end, the quality of the mark revolves around its ability to identify a product, service, or, really provider of such. If you hear about a new food out called a McX, where X is some word related to food, do you think about McDonalds. Most here, I think would. New electronic gadgets starting with a lower case "i" are maybe a bit more problematic for Apple, though they keep trying. We shall see how well these "brow" marks hold up, and that probably depends on how well he plays.

Bruce Hayden said...I wouldn't go that far, and I will note that the unibrow, per se, is not what they have apparently tried to protect

We'll have to agree to disagree on the first statement. Not sure why you felt the need to make the second.

I also take issue with your examples. Apple has no rights to the "i". In fact, they are the defendant in a lawsuit over it right now and their best argument (should they decide to make it) is that the "i" is unprotectable. If anyone has rights to it, it is not Apple.

McDonald's has spent many years and many millions building the "Mc" as a recognizable brand. This unibrow fellow has done no such thing.

The more apt comparison is "Linsanity." Jeremy Lin did not coin Linsanity, he did not popularize Linsanity. But he wants it all to himself.

"Fear the Brow", like "Linsanity" is an attempt to privatize a cultural moment. Something our IP laws make far too easy, and encourage far too much, to the detriment of the public it is supposedly meant to protect. Thus my original disagreement with you.